- Herrschaft (territory)
In the German feudal system, a herrschaft or herrlichkeit (equivalent of the French term "
Seigneurie ") was thefiefdom of a lord, who in this area exercised his full feudal rights. A fiefdom of the king or emperor within theHoly Roman Empire was known as a Reichsstandschaft.If they had become a
Graf or aFürst by purchase or inheritance, they were – unlike the Reichsritter – represented in the Reichstag on the Grafenbank (counts' bench).An Unterherrschaft or Unterherrlichkeit was a fief whose proprietor, an "Unterherr", was more or less independent on his own estate, without however being being free.
Bibliography
*Hanns Hubert Hofmann: Quellen zum Verfassungsorganismus des Heiligen Römischen Reiches Deutscher Nation 1495–1815, Darmstadt 1976.
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